MW Nvidia strikes a new memory-chip deal - but SK Hynix and Samsung shares are under heavy pressure

By Emily Bary

South Korea's once-hot Kospi index is headed for another day of sharp declines as the AI trade loses steam

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took meetings in South Korea over the weekend.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang just signed a new partnership agreement with SK Hynix, but that's not helping shares of the South Korean memory-chip manufacturer.

Shares of SK Hynix (KR:000660) opened 10.3% lower in Korean trading, while shares of fellow memory provider Samsung Electronics (KR:005930) opened 10.9% lower. South Korea's Kospi KR:180721 index traded as much as 8.8% lower, though all three have since pared losses.

SK Hynix and Samsung have been the major engines of the Kospi's strong rally so far this year, with the index up 94% so far in 2026. But the Kospi index lost 6.2% in Friday's trading, as the artificial-intelligence trade broadly came under pressure, and it's off another 6.1% early in Monday's action.

"One day does not make a trend, but when the market's hottest AI playground suddenly turns into a fire drill, traders tend to notice," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a Substack post. "And judging by Monday's price action, this is certainly not looking like a bundle of joy for Korean investors waking up to find their market at the epicenter of the global AI unwind."

From Friday: Marvell, Micron shares tumble as the chip sector suffers its worst day in 6 years

That said, Innes cautioned that it's still early in the trading day for the Korean stock market. "The real verdict will come when London arrives at the desk, and New York follows with fresh conviction," he wrote of the AI trade.

The overseas pressure comes despite positive commentary from Nvidia's (NVDA) Huang over the weekend, as well as the announcement of a new multiyear deal with SK Hynix. The companies will codevelop memory offerings for AI factories, which is an Nvidia term used to reference the idea of specialized AI-computing infrastructure.

"SK Hynix has been an extraordinary partner to Nvidia," Huang said in a statement.

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Memory chips have been in extremely short supply relative to booming AI-fueled demand, affording ample pricing power to SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron Technology $(MU)$, the three major memory providers. And Huang said over the weekend that the shortage is "going ?to persist for several years," according to Reuters.

Key questions for investors concern whether the shortages will remain as dire as they are currently and how long the memory giants will be able to keep boosting prices to the benefit of their profits. The companies have begun striking long-term agreements with purchasers, allowing the manufacturers to lock in elevated pricing levels for several years, though also potentially limiting further pricing upside with those customers in the near term.

See also: Hardcore gamers nurtured Nvidia and the AI boom. Now they feel betrayed by Big Tech.

-Emily Bary

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June 07, 2026 21:42 ET (01:42 GMT)

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